1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus or machine for affixing a brand upon meat or meat products, especially processed meat products such as frankfurters or other sausages, by bringing a heated brand surface into contact with the surface of the meat or meat product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The marking of meat or meat products having a smooth surface such as sausages or frankfurters (hereinafter referred to simply as meat products) by the affixation of a brand can serve one or more of a number of purposes. The placing of a mark upon a meat product may, for example, serve to identify the origin of the product, to identify the producer of the product, or to indicate a grade or other classification of the product. By far the most important of these purposes is the use of such a brand to affix upon the meat product the trademark of the producer.
In order to adequately perform the function of affixing a trademark or other brand upon a meat product, the apparatus or machine used for applying the brand should be capable of branding a large number of such products in a relatively short time. Specifically, such a branding machine(s) must be able to mark as many meat products in a given time period as are produced in a given period without damage to the meat in order to be commercially useful.
Moreoever, the apparatus must bring the heated brand surface into contact with the smooth surface of the meat product, such as a sausage, and maintain that contact for a period of time sufficient to affix a legible brand upon that surface. This it must do without undue burning or scorching of the meat product.
Another desirable feature of such a branding apparatus is the ability to affix brands upon meat products of various widths and thicknesses while maintaining the legibility of the brands.
Reinhart et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,622,513, discloses a method of branding fresh liver by the use of a hand-held branding apparatus comprising a plurality of brands which are mounted upon a hollow cylinder and which are heated electrically. This device, while capable of affixing multiple brands upon a single, relatively flat surface, is neither capable of sequentially affixing a brand upon a large number of individual meat products during a short time span nor useful for branding small meat products having substantially rounded surfaces, such as sausages.
Brown et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,260, discloses a meat patty finishing cooker comprising conveyor means and a plurality of hot-air jets for producing browned or seared marks or stripes so as to give the appearance that the patty was grilled. While this apparatus is capable of cooking a large number of meat patties in assembly-line fashion, its forced hot-air heating elements are not suited for the affixing of brands upon meat products for two reasons. First, because of the intense heat of the hot-air jets which is necessary to produce the desired appearance, not only is the meat patty marked, but, as Brown et al explain, it is partially cooked as well. Indeed, one suggested application of the Brown et al. device is to provide means for general surface cooking. In many applications of the apparatus of the instant invention, either limited or general surface cooking associated with the marking process would be highly undesirable. This is particularly true in the case of the use of a branding apparatus to mark fresh, processed or partially cooked meat products which are not produced for immediate consumption. The second disadvantage of the Brown et al. meat patty cooker is that it is incapable of producing a distinct, discrete, legible mark upon the meat surface.
In summary, the devices of the prior art are not satisfactory for affixing a single distinct brand upon large numbers of processed meat products, such as frankfurters and sausages having smooth surfaces, of varied shape and thickness, as is required of an apparatus to be employed in a large-scale commercial meat product processing operation.